


And All That Time I Should Have Been With You

by Tazza1993



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-03
Updated: 2017-03-03
Packaged: 2018-09-27 12:37:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10021115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tazza1993/pseuds/Tazza1993
Summary: "It's just a cup of tea, Robert."But Robert knew it was so much more than that.It was all of the time that he had missed out on with Aaron as he grew and changed.





	

**Author's Note:**

> For Robron week (the domestic goodness/pillow talk prompt).
> 
> Set in the early days of their reunion, in April 2016, after the court case had finished.

 

Robert didn't know how to do a great deal of things but he did know how to make Aaron Dingle's cup of tea. A lot of milk and three sugars - that's how Aaron had always taken his hot drinks, for as long as Robert had known him.

 

Robert may have broken Aaron's heart, made him question how important he was, played a part in making him want to die; but Robert had never forgotten how he liked his hot beverages. Aaron had never known how important he was to Robert. Maybe, until recently, Robert himself had been unaware of how essential Aaron was to his very existence - but Robert had never managed to completely erase the little details about Aaron. He had never managed to forget how his mouth curled up into a crooked smile when he was contented. He had never managed to forget the sound of Aaron's snuffly breath as he settled into a deep sleep. He had never managed to forget the precise way that Aaron preferred his cups of tea to be made. He had never forgotten Aaron at all, if he was being honest with himself.

 

Now, Aaron was willing to give him a thoroughly undeserved second chance. Brave, gorgeous, kind hearted, funny Aaron who had been through hell and back and still managed to come out of it fighting. Robert was going to make sure that he never let him down again.

 

Aaron had laughed when Robert had clambered out of his bed in Vic and Adam's spare room, offering to make them both cups of tea. It was relatively early in the morning and the room was bathed in shadows. It had been the first night that Aaron had slept soundly, without nightmares dancing on the edges of his consciousness. They were both feeling better for it - sated, well rested and content, with the hope that they were starting to move past the horror of the last few months.

 

"Still sucking up, are you?" Aaron had teased, his eyes soft. "You'll be bringing me breakfast in bed next."

 

Robert had rolled his eyes, unable to wipe the smile off his face, as he had padded down the stairs, leaving Aaron curled up under the duvet. Robert had never wanted to do things just to make somebody smile and feel appreciated for a long time. With Chrissie, he had bypassed effort and time with money. He had taken her to expensive coffee shops and bought her lattes and breakfast rolls. Somehow, this seemed to mean more.

 

He stood, shivering in his thin t shirt and tracksuit bottoms, waiting for the kettle to boil. Last night, Robert had kicked out in his sleep, stirring himself and Aaron momentarily out of their slumber.

 

_"I remember this," Aaron had mumbled, his voice gravelly._

 

_"I should hope so," Robert had replied, smiling into his pillow at the thought of their stolen nights in various hotel rooms. "It wasn't that long ago."_

 

_"Feels like a lifetime ago," Aaron had countered._

 

He made the two cups of tea quickly, eager to return to his sleepy boyfriend. Milky, with three sugars, exactly how Aaron liked it. He bounded back up the stairs, a mug in each hand, momentarily forgetting about the presence of his sister and her husband across the hallway. He winced as he realised how much noise he was likely making - he was sure to get a scolding over the breakfast table.

 

Aaron sat up against the headboard, as Robert closed the bedroom door behind him. A few months ago, Robert had been trying to accept the fact that he would never get to see Aaron in this vulnerable state again (trying to accept but never quite coming to terms with it). Aaron had always looked particularly alluring to Robert, in the mornings, with his tousled hair and oversized t shirts. Perhaps because he had gotten to share so few of them with him. Most mornings, Robert had long returned to Chrissie. He had woken up to her in their king sized bed, thinking of Aaron's morning stubble and wide, tired eyes. Now, he was here, in Robert's bed and Robert wanted to pinch himself. Instead, he handed Aaron his mug and sat down on the edge of the bed, beside him.

 

Aaron took a sip and pulled a face. "Too much sugar, Robert." He spluttered.

 

Robert looked at him, frowning. "You always take three sugars."

 

Aaron shrugged. "Bad for you, isn't it. I've been down to just one for ages now."

 

And Robert knew that it was ridiculous to feel so shaken by such a small, inconsequential detail. He knew that he was being irrational even as he muttered something vague in Aaron's direction, before fleeing downstairs.

 

***

 

Aaron came looking for him barely ten minutes later. Robert was huddled up on Victoria's sofa, his long legs stretched out in front of him, with some mindless cartoon playing on the television. Aaron was fully dressed now and he had an old hoodie of Robert's flung over his arm. He held it out to Robert, his hand outstretched.

 

"Figured you'd be cold," he said.

 

Despite himself, Robert's lips twitched upwards at the gesture. Victoria's living room was chilly - the heating hadn't automatically turned on yet. He tugged the hoodie on as Aaron sat down beside him. The hoodie was an old dark green one, stretched out and worn with age. Robert instantly felt snug, comforted. It reminded him of Sunday evenings with Victoria, curled up on the sofa with no pretence.

 

"Is this about the tea?" Aaron asked, his gaze searching.

 

Robert shrugged, and pressed himself further back into the sofa, feeling faintly idiotic.

 

"It's just a cup of tea, Robert."

 

But Robert knew it was so much more than that. It was all of the time that he had missed out on with Aaron as he grew and changed. It was all of the new films that Aaron had discovered and watched without Robert snuggled up next to him. It was all of the jokes that Aaron had laughed at when Robert wasn't around to laugh with him. It was all of the nights that Aaron had gone to bed, resenting Robert and wishing that he had never met him. It was time he had missed out on because he had been too scared to admit who he really was. And every day that he had spent burying his wants and needs had been a day that he could have spent with Aaron.

 

"If I hadn't spent so much time being such a prat, then I would still know how you like your tea," Robert eventually said, avoiding eye contact with Aaron.

 

But Aaron leant forward and tilted Robert's chin up with surprising gentleness, so he had nowhere to look but directly at Aaron. And Robert knew that Aaron understood now because Aaron had always had an uncanny knack for reading Robert. "Change isn't always a bad thing," he said, stroking a finger across Robert's jaw. "I'm better. You're better. We're better."

 

"What if the way you feel about me has changed?" Robert uttered quietly.

 

"It has," answered Aaron, tightening his grip on Robert's face so that he could not move away. "You make me feel safe now." The expression on his face was earnest and filled with emotion.

 

Aaron closed the last few inches between them and kissed Robert, slowly and tenderly, not letting go of his face. This, at least, hadn't changed, thought Robert, as their lips moved in unison. Robert would always want Aaron. And Robert would hold on to that feeling, that want, no matter what else had changed.

 

He supposed that it might be fun, rediscovering Aaron. They had a lot to catch up on, after all.


End file.
